i really came to love my two atheist records i have on vinyl so far. "piece of time" and especially "elements" are unique, progressive and so beautifully sophistacted. among fans, their second record "unquestionable presence" seems to be their crowning work. as i was late to the re-press parties that season of mist threw in the past, i am always on the look-out for some new re-issues. i get all kinds of update mails from several distros and labels to not miss anything. when i got a mail from high roller records i was delighted to see the name atheist in the pre-order section. it wasn't the desired re-press of "unquestionable presence" but of "jupiter" instead. and it came on colour vinyl. a no-brainer.
"jupiter" is the band's fourth full length album which came out in 2010. so seventeen years after the band released their third record "elements". the guys are not the ones for quick decisions. after disbanding in 1994 they actually came back together in 2006 already. it took them another four years to come up with new stuff. anyway, the album is quite a good return. thankfully they didn't try to push things. they wrote eight songs without any fillers like intro or interludes (although i liked those interludes on "elements"). those eight songs are everything the band promised on their preceding three records, only without the surprising joy of playing of the nineties.
i think, this it what makes "jupiter" go pale compared to the old atheist stuff. you know what you will get. despite all complexity, atheist doesn't bring something unexpected to the table. but that's just what i would expect of a progressive band. in the end my view on "jupiter" is not as harsh as these words sound like. i still enjoy this album all the way through. a great prog death release. period. i wonder if it takes them another seventeen years for new tunes. seven years already down. fingers crossed. the re-press comes in a gatefold with a nice poster and transparent yellow vinyl out of 300 copies. season of mist records. 2010/2017.
